


Poisson d'avril

by MadamRed



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Aged-Up Otabek Altin, Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, April Fools' Day, Crushes, Fluff, JJ is a good friend, Living Together, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 06:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10530666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamRed/pseuds/MadamRed
Summary: Yuri and Otabek are living together in St Petersburg. Yuri is obliviously in love with his best friend. Otabek is in love with him, too, but prefers to keep his infatuation a secret.JJ, on the other hand, is sick and tired of seeing his friend suffer when he could obviously be having the time of his life next to the person he loves. So, he decides to help them by sending a text to Yuri from Otabek’s phone while the Kazakh is doing an interview the afternoon after the men’s FS at Worlds in Helsinki.The fact that it is April 1st doesn’t cross anyone’s mind until it’s a little too late.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had this silly idea two days ago and it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it, so here we are, guys. I hope you enjoy my little take on April Fools' Day!

JJ groaned as he listened to Otabek’s never-ending list of excuses as to why he could, and would, _not_ confess he was head over heels with Yuri.

‘Otabek, Otabek, Otabek,’ JJ tried again with a sigh, once the Kazakh finally shut up, and recited his own list of reasons why he should. ‘You _moved_ to St Petersburg, changed coaches and home rink to be near him. And then you moved in _together_ five months ago after he turned nineteen.’

‘Your point, Leroy?’ Otabek’s deadpan gaze fell on him through the grainy resolution of the screen and JJ knew he would get nowhere.

‘My point, _Altin_ , is that you’re still as stubborn as all hell,’ the Canadian said after a minute of a very solid stare-down. ‘Fine, don’t listen to your buddy, but I’m telling you...’ he paused longer than what was strictly necessary for dramatic effect, ‘he feels _exactly_ the same way as you.’

Otabek averted his eyes, and JJ counted it as a small win.

The conversation steered away from the topic of Otabek’s love life, or lack thereof, as JJ went on a detailed description of what his married life was like now that he and Isabella had had a little girl. Otabek, grateful for the shift, nodded and said a few words here and there, his gaze softening as he listened to his friend go on and on about his family.

JJ, even if he was self-centred and obnoxious sometimes, had always been there for Otabek whenever he reached out.

Whether it had been in Canada, debating if he should even go back to Almaty, or each of them in their respective countries when Otabek called him out of the blue at an ungodly hour to tell him he had a _humungous_ crush on Yuri, a year after becoming friends with the Russian, and to please help him because he honestly thought his cheeks were going to suddenly burst into flames if Yuri hugged him one more time. _“JJ, I swear my heart hasn’t beaten this fast since we had to run from the police the night you thought stealing a_ yacht _was a good way to celebrate graduating high school.”_

Now, three years later, Otabek and Yuri were roommates, and Otabek asked himself every single day why he had thought living together would be a good idea.

Yuri didn’t trust just _anyone,_ but once he did, he allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of them. Just a handful of people got to see him truly relaxed in a domestic environment, and Otabek considered himself lucky to be among them.

However, as much as it was a _blessing_ to wake up and walk into the kitchen to find a shirtless Yuri, a bird’s nest in his head, smiling and asking him if he wanted coffee before heading to practice, it also crumbled Otabek’s self-control to _shreds_ every single day it happened.

The number of times he had apologised for running into his room mid-movie because he was afraid that Yuri might notice he had popped a boner was embarrassingly high. In his defence, it only happened when Yuri was really, really close to him. Like when Otabek was sitting on the floor at the foot of the couch and Yuri was massaging his shoulders and back after a nasty fall on the ice, his breath right next to the Kazakh’s ear working on a particularly sore muscle, or when the blond decided to drape his _entire_ body on top of his as if he were an actual cat.

It was just too much for him to handle, and yet, JJ always listened to him – and then proceeded to mock him for days once he had calmed down enough because _“really, what are friends for?”_

‘Otabek, buddy, are you even listening to me anymore?’ JJ’s voice reached his ears again, and Otabek realised that he had completely zoned out.

‘Sorry, I-’

‘He got bored of listening to your shit again, _buddy,’_ Yuri interrupted his apology, kicking the door shut behind him as he carried three bags worth of groceries. Otabek jumped from his chair and took two of the bags from his arms, bringing them to the dining table to sort through and put away later.

‘Sorry, JJ, I need to help Yuri with dinner,’ Otabek said, walking back to the computer and trying to sound earnest while itching to be near the man that was now mumbling something in Russian about a certain rude Canadian who apparently didn’t understand the concept of time zones. Despite having accepted the fact that JJ was Otabek’s friend, Yuri still could not stand the sight of him.

‘Sure, don’t worry. I need to go make breakfast for my girls, anyway,’ JJ told him, a mischievous smirk taking over his face before he added something else. ‘Remember what I said about the gala!’

Otabek fumbled to disconnect the call as JJ’s laughter boomed through the speakers. Next time, it would be wise to plug in his headphones to avoid a similar situation.

His heart was pounding when he walked into the kitchen, bringing a few of the items from the bags on the table. Did Yuri hear what JJ said? Would he ask him about it? He blushed slightly as he remembered what JJ had suggested.

‘Beka,’ Yuri called and Otabek’s back stiffened. Otabek was kneeling on the floor, putting away the vegetables on the bottom shelf and refused to raise his eyes.

‘Yeah?’ he was proud of how steady his voice sounded. _Cool, keep it cool._

‘Can you bring me the meat that’s still in one of the bags in the living room? I want to get started on dinner soon,’ Yuri told him, his voice normal.

Otabek got up, closed the fridge and brought the last few things to Yuri, as the blond started chopping some tomatoes and herbs as a dressing for their simple steak dinner.

The Kazakh was relieved when he heard Yuri start humming under his breath, a trait that was incredibly endearing in his opinion. When he had asked Yuri about it after they first moved in together, Yuri had blushed and, after some coaxing, confessed that he had picked up the habit from the piggy and the old man whenever he was over their place for dinner. Then he went on and threatened Otabek of bodily harm if he ever so much as dared tell them.

Otabek relaxed and helped by cleaning after Yuri and set the table while they waited for the meat to finish cooking.

Their kitchen, and apartment, was small, which meant that it was really easy for Otabek to get lost in his own fantasy world and imagine that he was hugging Yuri from behind as he reached for the glasses on the top cupboard to Yuri’s right, or that he could just move his head a little to plant a kiss on Yuri’s temple as he grabbed forks and knives from the drawer on the left.

It was so easy in fact that he chastised himself when his hand actually reached out to brush Yuri’s hair behind his ear when a strand fell from his bun. At least he was rewarded with one of Yuri’s brilliant smile, the one that made his stomach attempt a quad of its own.

They chatted while they ate, mainly about practice that day and how Yakov had been a little too harsh on everyone.

‘Lilia was also incredibly grumpy today, more so than usual,’ Yuri mentioned as he stabbed the little piece of tomato that refused to go into his mouth with his fork. Otabek was about to comment on that when Yuri continued. ‘Ah, by the way, what did the asshole say about a gala?’

Otabek almost dropped his fork once the words registered but he managed to bring it all the way up to his open mouth and chewed slowly to buy himself some time.

‘Um,’ he mumbled, unsure of what to say. He decided to be honest since it was the only thing that came to mind. ‘He, uh, suggested that we should skate together at Worlds.’

Otabek kept his eyes on his plate as he moved the food around with his fork and waited for Yuri’s typical string of insults that he reserved specifically for JJ. He was surprised when silence met his ears. He glanced quickly at the blond sitting across from him and found a pensive expression on Yuri’s face instead of his go-to scowl.

After a few unnerving minutes, Otabek nudged Yuri’s foot under the table and raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for the blond to say something.

‘Sorry, I was just... thinking,’ Yuri offered lamely and lowered his eyes to his empty plate. ‘That’s... actually not such a bad idea.’

‘Really?’ Otabek said as he looked at Yuri like he had just grown a second head.

‘Yeah,’ he shrugged, trying not to make it seem like a big deal. His insides, on the other hand, were in complete chaos. ‘Why? What do you think?’

‘I, well, I...’ the Kazakh swallowed before gathering his thoughts into one coherent sentence. ‘I didn’t really give it much thought since I figured you wouldn’t want to do it.’

‘Why would you think I don’t want to skate with you? We do it all the time at the rink,’ Yuri said, which was true. They did like to fool around and skate together once everyone left. The feeling of freedom that came with being the only two there was indescribable.

‘It’s not that,’ Otabek replied. ‘I thought you wouldn’t want to do it because the idea came from, you know, JJ.’

‘Yes, that may be true but...’ Yuri hesitated as his cheeks got slightly rosier with each word, ‘I’ve actually thought about it before.’

The words were uttered in a rush, but Otabek caught the gist of what his friend was saying.

‘You... have?’ the Kazakh asked, the rest of his food cold and long forgotten. He didn’t care. His stomach was turning in such a way at the prospect of skating with Yuri on international television at Worlds that he probably wouldn’t be able to keep it down anyway.

‘Yeah, I’ve even thought of a few songs that would work well for a gala,’ Yuri finally raised his eyes to gauge Otabek’s reaction. His friend was staring at him, his face devoid of any expression. ‘Beka?’ Yuri ventured, unsure of what the other was thinking.

‘Yes, I’m here, sorry,’ Otabek looked at him and gave him a small smile. ‘Why don’t you go and put together a playlist while I do the dishes?’

 

* * *

The process of picking a song, coming up with a choreography and practising it in secret (except for Yakov, who knew of their plans and had agreed, begrudgingly, as long as it didn’t distract either of them from their own routines) was arduous, but worth it.

Otabek arrived in Helsinki for Worlds _excited_ for the competition. It was the first year since Viktor’s official retirement and subsequent move to Japan to continue coaching Katsuki, which meant that the chances of Otabek, Yuri and the Japanese to be in the podium together were exceedingly high.

They had been trading places for a few years now, one of them always losing the podium to Viktor whenever the four of them competed together, but otherwise, they had been dominating the international stage. Now, it was just a matter of not letting anyone come near those top three places.

Fortunately, and to no one’s surprise, Yuri, Otabek and the piggy – in that order – claimed the podium, followed not-so-closely by Chris, Seung-gil, JJ and someone else whose name Yuri could not be bothered to remember. Phichit, Guang-Hong, Leo, Michele, Emil and plenty of others were also there, but their scores had been significantly lower compared to theirs.

Yuri felt exhilarated. This was his fourth year at Worlds as a senior and he had _finally_ won. A part of him felt a little bad about taking the gold from Otabek and the pig, but the more competitive side of him was still floating somewhere near cloud nine.

He was lost in his thoughts as he made a bee line for the bathroom in his hotel room for a much needed bath. He had to admit that he missed the hot springs in Hasetsu. He made a mental note to come up with an excuse to go visit the pig and the old man during the summer, and maybe even try and get Beka to join him again.

Yuri’s mind was soon consumed with images of his best friend: Beka hugging him after the ceremony, skating together in practice for a while, having dinner with him and laughing at his stupid jabs at people, Beka looking at Yuri with this soft expression when he thought Yuri was not paying attention to him, Beka leaving everything on the ice just a few hours ago...

Yuri sighed as he sunk lower on the decent-size tub. His feelings for his best friend were getting out of control. He had thought that the crush would go away after a few months but that had obviously not happened.

It had all started when Beka surprised him by visiting him for his 17th birthday. His friend had arranged everything with the back-then-still-engaged idiots and appeared in front of his bedroom door at Lilia’s with a single rose, a neatly-wrapped new pair of headphones Yuri had been eyeing for a while and a spare helmet. They had gone all around the city, enjoying the cold weather, before heading for dinner, just the two of them.

It was still one of Yuri’s favourite birthdays, which made him feel slightly guilty since, until that moment, his most beloved birthday had been his eighth, when his grandfather had gifted him his own pair of skates, having grown tired of Yuri’s complaints about the ones he rented at the rink.

His train of thought was interrupted by his phone beeping. He reached for it at the bathroom counter and frowned when he saw it was a message from Beka. Wasn’t he supposed to be in the middle of a radio interview? He shrugged and unlocked his phone, reading the text quickly.

 ** _Beka  
_** Today, 5.17 pm

_Hey, how about we meet for a celebratory cup of coffee when I’m done with this?_

**_Yura  
_** Today, 5.17 pm

_Sure. Where do you wanna go?_

**_Beka  
_** Today, 5.20 pm

_Let’s meet at the café we saw the other day in the centre of town. 6.30 sound good?_

**_Yura  
_** Today, 5.21 pm

_Yeah_

**_Beka  
_** Today, 5.23 pm

_Oh, and Yura? I kinda want to talk to you about something important._

**_Yura  
_** Today, 5.24 pm

_What about?_

**_Beka  
_** Today, 5.24 pm

_Us._

  
Yuri did a double take. The message contained one simple word, and yet it was enough to fill his heart with both anticipation and dread.

Had Yuri been too obvious when he practically jumped onto Beka’s arms backstage after the ceremony earlier today? He really hoped he hadn’t screwed everything up because this wasn’t just about Yuri’s heart breaking if everything went south between them. Beka moved out of his beloved country after Yakov offered to be his coach, which only became a reality after Yuri had _begged_ Yakov to take Beka as his student once Georgi retired.

Beka was his best friend, his rink mate, his roommate. The guy who gave him so much strength with just a look or a gesture. The guy who hugged him as he cried in the safety of his room after saying goodbye to Viktor and Yuuri at the airport when they finally decided to settle down in Japan. The guy who moved in with him in a heartbeat because he had seen how miserable Yuri was after the couple left.

Basically, Beka meant the world to Yuri right after his grandfather, so the blond tried to think positively as he got dressed with shaking hands. This was _Beka!_ He would never do anything to hurt Yuri, right?

By the time Yuri made it to the café, his whole body was trembling, even after he took a seat at a booth waiting for Beka to show up and maybe change his entire world. For better or for worse.

 

* * *

Otabek finished the radio interview he had to do for one of his sponsors and he reached for his phone. He frowned as he realised it was unlocked and turned around to see JJ smirking at him from his seat, waiting for his turn for another interview. He felt fear take hold of his stomach. That particular smile _always_ meant trouble.

‘JJ, you’re up in five!’ the host told him as he exited the little studio and left them alone in there, soft music playing in the background.

‘JJ-,’ Otabek started saying but the Canadian raised one of his hands. He immediately closed his mouth and waited, his heart beating rapidly as the seconds ticked by.

‘Otabek, my friend, my pal, my buddy,’ JJ spoke loudly as he stood up and walked towards him, clapping him on the back a few times. ‘I’m just going to say that I did it because I’ve had enough of your stubbornness and, since you were already planning on inviting Yuri to have coffee with you at that café you mentioned, I just thought I’d lend a hand.’

He said it all with his usual hand gestures and booming voice, which only helped Otabek understand why Yuri despised the man as much as he did.

‘JJ, what exactly did you do?’ the Kazakh asked, closing his eyes momentarily to keep his composure, even if he sort of knew what JJ had done.

‘I messaged Yuri using your phone,’ he replied, happily, and Otabek quickly went back to his conversation with Yuri. Panic took over his mind as he read what JJ had written at the end.

 _‘JJ!_ _What the f-’_

‘Wow, wow, wow,’ JJ put his hands up in mock surrender, ‘that kitten is a bad influence on you, buddy.’

Otabek gritted his teeth instead of replying, hurriedly pocketed his phone and put on his jacket. JJ’s voice made him turn just as the host of the show opened the door, bringing a couple of mugs of coffee in his hand.

‘I would move fast if I were you. It’s almost time,’ JJ mentioned casually as he took a seat in front of the host and put on the same set of headphones Otabek had been wearing not even ten minutes ago.

Otabek apologised to the host for leaving a little abruptly and ran to his bike. It was 5.55 pm. Knowing Yuri, he was probably already at the café waiting for him. He put on his helmet and kicked the bike, speeding through the traffic.

It was just his luck that the place JJ had mentioned to Yuri was on the other side of the city. He was bound to be late, but he couldn't bring himself to stop and text.

 

* * *

Yuri cursed himself under his breath. He was bored after waiting for fifteen minutes and it wasn’t even 6 yet. He had been so preoccupied with the fact that Beka wanted to talk him about whatever it was that was going on between them that he didn’t realise he was early until he found himself pushing the door of the café open.

He sighed as he unlocked his phone. Since there were no new messages from Beka, Yuri went to Instagram and Twitter to start replying to the million and a half notifications he had across his social media. He had given the phone to Yakov before the competition and hadn’t paid attention to it until he got that first message from Beka earlier.

He lost track of time for a while as he liked, answered and retweeted a handful of comments from his Angels. Those girls may be crazy, but they sure as hell worked fast when it came to edits and the like.

He was admiring someone’s drawing of him, Beka and the pig together on the podium, when one of the comments caught his eye:

_“Doesn’t anyone else find it /hilarious/ that Yuri Plisetsky got Gold on April fools’ day?”_

The person got a few replies, some from outraged Angels and some from people who agreed it was funny. But Yuri stopped reading after the fifth one.

April fools’, the one day you were not supposed to believe everything you read.

He closed his eyes and swallowed the lump already forming in his throat. Beka had mentioned that the asshole was going to be with him during the interview. He should’ve been more suspicious when he got the message or at least he should've checked if his friend was in fact in the middle of the interview or not when he got it. _Could it be that...?_

 _No, no, no,_ the positive side of his brain said. _Beka would never dare play with someone’s feelings like that._

 _But JJ would,_ provided another voice, which sounded surprisingly similar to Viktor’s.

His internal battle came to a stop when he felt a tear coming down his cheek. He quickly covered his hair with his hoodie and angrily wiped the few tears that had escaped with his sleeve.

Yuri Plisetsky would _not_ cry in public over a stupid prank. For all he knew, either JJ was there ready to take a picture of him or he had sent someone. So, he got up and walked to the exit in a daze, not paying attention to the sounds coming from outside.

He had started walking away, his gaze glued to the ground beneath him to make sure no one saw the way his eyes were still trying to betray him, when he heard his name being called from behind him. He recognised the voice immediately and stopped but didn’t turn, not wanting Beka to see him so vulnerable. Which _was_ kind of silly if he considered the fact that Beka had seen him bawling his eyes out when the idiots moved, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn around.

‘Yura,’ Beka said again, trying to catch his breath. He had parked the bike in front of the café and had had to run after Yuri when he saw him leaving. ‘Yura, are you okay?’ he asked and walked until he was standing behind Yuri.

Yuri nodded, knowing his voice would sound weak if he were to answer properly.

‘Yura, please, look at me,’ the Kazakh pleaded, and the blond reluctantly turned around. ‘Yura, I didn’t send those messages. But I guess you already figured that one out, huh?’

‘Yeah,’ Yuri replied and fought the urge to sniffle. ‘Let’s just... forget this happened, okay? I wanna go back to the hotel.’

‘Yura... I may not have sent the texts but that doesn’t mean I didn’t actually want to talk to you,’ Otabek braced himself for the death glare he was expecting and instead was surprised to see Yuri’s wild eyes filled with tears looking back at him.

‘What are you saying?’ the blond sounded hesitant, as if he didn’t want to believe what was about to happen.

‘I- ah, well,’ Otabek struggled with his words. He hadn’t planned this far ahead, desperate to get to Yuri before he made the unfortunate connection between the date and the messages. Only JJ Leroy would try to help him confess on this day.

‘Forget it, Beka,’ a tear escaped from the corner of his eye as the blond tried to walk past him and towards the bike.

‘No,’ Otabek said, extending his arm to block his path and looking him dead in the eye as he finally told Yuri how he felt. ‘I won’t because I’m in love with you, Yura. Have been for the longest time.’

Yuri started crying in earnest then, relief overflowing his whole body as he stared at his best friend with his mouth open, but not really saying anything in response.

Otabek, now unburdened by the weight of his confession, took Yuri’s face in his hands and brushed the tears away, more concerned with Yuri’s well-being than having his feelings reciprocated. Despite JJ’s reassurances time and time again, a small part of his mind still believed Yuri was too good for him, completely out of his league.

‘Yura?’ Otabek said once the crying seemed to stop. Yuri, who seemed to have been lost in thought for a while, sniffled and stepped into Otabek’s warm embrace. They had been standing outside in the cold for too long now.

‘Beka, do you mean it?’ Yuri sounded, and felt, fragile in his arms, as if the integrity of the blond’s heart depended solely on Otabek’s reply.

‘Every word, Yura,’ he whispered next to Yuri’s ear and kissed his temple just like he had wanted to do so many times before.

Yuri raised his head from where it was resting on Otabek’s shoulder and pressed a soft but lingering kiss to his cheek.

‘I’m love with you, too. Have been since you showed up at Lilia’s for my seventeenth birthday,’ Yuri told him, a deep blush appearing on his face which had nothing to do with the cold wind that had suddenly picked up.

Otabek smiled and tightened his hold on Yuri. He started leaning in but was stopped by Yuri’s fingers on his lips.

‘Wait, we’re in public!’ Yuri whispered, looking around for any cameras, paranoid of the paparazzi. ‘As _much_ as I would like to kiss you right now, I don’t want to be like the old man and the piggy.’

Otabek laughed a bit despite his disappointment and stepped back from Yuri.

‘Okay,’ he simply said and grabbed the other man’s hand to drag him towards the bike. He silently gave Yuri the extra helmet JJ had used to go to the radio station and put his own helmet on before sitting on the motorcycle.

‘Where are we going?’ Yuri asked, narrowing his eyes, but he still fastened the strap around his chin and sat behind the Kazakh, not waiting for an answer.

‘To have dinner,’ Otabek explained as he turned the bike around towards the restaurant he had in mind.

‘Like a date?’ Yuri asked over the noise of the traffic around them.

‘Like a date,’ he confirmed. The only sign he got that Yuri had heard him was the blond’s arms squeezing his middle and Yuri’s head resting against shoulder.

When they arrived and sat down at the family-owned restaurant Viktor had recommended when they got to Helsinki five days ago, Otabek sent a message to JJ under the table while Yuri took his time to decide what he wanted to eat.

 

 ** _Otabek  
_** Today, 7.29 pm

_Thank you._

**_J.J. Leroy  
_** Today, 7.30 pm

_Anytime, buddy! Tell the kitten he owes me! ;)_

**_Otabek  
_** Today, 7.30 pm

_Never. I don’t wanna die young, Leroy._

 

* * *

Later that night, just before midnight, JJ posted a video of Otabek and Yuri dancing to a song which was going to be used by a Russian ice dance couple for their short dance.

This had happened during the first morning of practice, and they had looked so at ease with each other as they skated together that the Canadian couldn’t help himself and recorded the scene without them noticing, thinking that he could use the material to blackmail Otabek in the future.

In the video, an acoustic version of [Imelda May’s song “Fallin in love with you again”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHttBIhoeac) was heard as the two friends mockingly repeated the little choreography JJ had seen Viktor and Yuuri do a few seconds ago to try and get under Viktor’s nerves.

Otabek and Yuri were skating in little circles around each other until their hands eventually touched and they pretended to sway as if they were in the middle of a ballroom instead of an ice rink.

 **_When you put your hand in mine  
_ ** **_Send shivers up and down my spine_ **

Otabek dipped Yuri for a second and when he helped him back up, they looked at each other deeply in the eye as they continued to move around their side of the rink.

 **_Your lips taste soft once more  
_ ** **_My heart flips when you simply come through the front door_ **

Yuri twirled Otabek around and let go of his hand, the both of them spinning in perfect synch, raising one leg behind them before joining hands again and standing in front of each other, their mouths inches away, sharing the same breath instead of kissing like the older couple had done and...

And then the video stopped.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to [thegreyladies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreyladies/pseuds/thegreyladies) for helping me with JJ's post and for being there to talk fic ideas with me! <3
> 
> Come yell at me about YoI/Otayuri over on tumblr: [madamredwrites](http://madamredwrites.tumblr.com/) ❤️️


End file.
